Black Day: Army Public School (Peshawar) 16.12.14

It was a regular, cosy, Tuesday morning in the city. People were headed to work, children were off to school and Moms were indecisive about what to prepare for lunch. As the time kept ticking, the vibes in the surrounding suddenly changed. It was like misfortune and despair had taken over the air in the city.

In the mid-morning, seven armed terrorists, stormed an army run public school, massacring 150 people in the school in which 134 were students. Many of the pupils were children of military personnel. The terrorists created a diversion for the school guards as to enter the main assembly by bombing their own car. As soon as they arrived in the first class, they started shooting the teachers and students indiscriminately. Their mission was to kill and not hold any hostages.

Commandos from the Special Services Group of the Pakistani army arrived a bit later and at length succeeded in cornering the attackers, all of whom were wearing suicide vests lined with explosives. The attackers died in the confrontation, whereas, some of the soldiers were severely injured. The attack was estimated to have lasted about eight hours. The alarmed parents of the victims gathered at the gates of the school compound in fright, and agony and waiting to see their children getting out of the hell hole alive. According to various news channel reports, more than 100 people were injured.

Responsibility for the inhumane act was claimed by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani branch of the Taliban, a militant Islamic movement. TTP leaders sought to justify the attack as retribution for violent government attacks on its members. In the view of knowledgeable observers, the most probable provocation was Operation Zarb-e-Azb, a government anti-militant offensive in North Waziristan, one of Pakistan’s tribal regions.

The tragedy of Army Public School (Peshawar) aroused worldwide condemnation. In response, Pakistan reinstated the death penalty after a six-year moratorium and executed many suspected Taliban militants.